BWii 1: War Tactics
by JJEmpire64
Summary: one of the roleplays my friends did at BWii HQ. Part One of the BWii Trilogy. Part One'll have some made up nations, to warn ya. please read and review. now...this is rated T for violence and language. CHAPTER 10 ADDED
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mattimeo, a Solar assault veteran, sat in the trench wearily, the blaze of gunfire coming from beside him, in front of him, and behind him. He stood up and fired his Plasma Rifle until the battery was empty, taking out an oncoming Anglo Isles Rifle Grunt.Hearing someone call from behind, "All fighting-fit gunmen to the nearest armor unit, we're sending in a squadron! All Assault and Bazooka Veterans are to escort them!""That's us, guys!" He commanded his squad, "Move out, cover that Battlestation and that AA unit!"Olympus Squadron was comprised mainly of Assault Vets, Plasma Vets, and Mortar Vets, but they had a few Rifle Grunts and Bazooka Vets mixed in as well. It seemed that the moment he lifted himself out of the trench, Mattimeo was hit in the shoulder with a shot from an Assault Veteran. It came from... the east? "What the hell? Is that..."As he spoke, a Western Frontier T-Copter landed nearby, pouring units out into the battlefield. "Damn, they must've taken the side of the Anglo Isles..."

Jonathan was on the deck of the _Indefatigable_, the mighty winds blowing the hair that was not protected by his bronze helmet. He looked below the ship, through the many dots in the vast blue abyss, to a mass of sand and trees covered in various explosions which blazed bright orange amongst all else. "Jonathan!" yelled a voice. Jonathan turned to address the man who spoke at him who turned out to be his fellow crewman, Darryl Highwind. "What is it now, Darryl?" Jonathan replied, his voice nearly drowned by the roar of the ship. Darryl's lips moved, yet no sound seemed to come from them. It didn't take long for Jonathan to realize why for at that moment, Anglo jets shot past, delivering missiles to the hull of the _Indefatigable_. The whole ship trembled violently and both Jonathan and Darryl were thrown form their feet onto the deck. "Blast those cursed Islanders!" swore Darryl, "Jonathan, get to the AA decks." Jonathan nodded and began to smile. "Those who touch our beloved ship shall pay the price tenfold!" And off he went, without any care or thought to the conflict in the trenches below him.

After having the bullet removed and his arm bandaged, Mattimeo was stubborn enough to return to the battlefield. He caught up with his Squadron, whose AA unit was firing missiles at a Windis Empire airship.He saw some troopers land nearby and ordered half his men to charge. "Get over there, we can't have the Windis screwing this up!"As they were running, his troop started firing plasma bolts at the Windis squadron that had just landed. "That'll be a nice welcome present for 'em!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jonathan fell after another tremble shook the ship. He looked down and saw the Sols with their AA vehicles firing wave after wave of plasma. "Darryl," yelled Jonathan, "what gave the Sols cause to fire upon us?" Darryl shook his head. He didn't know. _Blast!_, thought Jonathan, _what could give them good reason to fire on us? We're a neutral vessel!_ Darryl cursed at him. "Get up already, Jonathan! We've not a moment to lose." They ran below deck, gripping tightly to the rails, for Anglo missiles and Solar plasma continued to hail upon them. They reached the first gundeck as others were rushing to their posts, chaos building fast in the atmosphere. An explosion rocked the left deck and through Jonathan on his face again, shrapnel shooting past his head. Darryl was already back on his feet and heading to the AA guns. Jonathan knew the _Indefatigable_ would not last while taking heavy fire from fighters and AA vehicles. He saw the Admiral barking out orders over the sound of explosions and Windisian guns, deciding it was best to speak with the only man who could save their lives. "Admiral!" yelled Jonathan, "We have to put her down!" The Admiral took no heed of him and continued his duties. Jonathan put a hand on the Admiral's shoulder and yelled again. This time he received a push backwards and a command of, "Get to your post! We'll not surrender to this baggage." Jonathan sighed. He expected this kind of stubbornness from the Admiral but he still knew his life and his friends' lives were more important than one man's pride. "Admiral, now is not the time to choke on pride!" Jonathan said, "You know we cannot survive up here. We must land." The Admiral's eyes showed defeat as he sighed, "Very well then, trooper. Form a landing force and lead the way!"

Seeing a Windis Empire trooper approach one of his Outfit Members, he fired a bolt of plasma, but missed! The Windisian tackled the Plasma Veteran and they started grappling on the ground, "I don't have time for this..."BRRZT "Olympus Squadron, we need you to board that airship! A nearby T-Copter will pick you up!" BRRZTHearing the command over the com, Mattimeo rushed to rally his men and load them on the T-Copter. They landed on the _Indefatigable_ and immediately started firing mortars, grenades, bazookas, and plasma everywhere they could."You two!" Mattimeo yelled at Plasma Veteran and another Assault Veteran, "We're going to try and take the control room to bring this baby down!"Nodding, his two troop members obediently followed. On the path to the engine room, they encountered a small resistance force. They were holed up pretty well, but their metal shielding was no match for the plasma bolts of the Solar Empire."Keep moving, guys!" Mattimeo encouraged his troops, "We can do this!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Digit" had just been unloaded from the Black Eagle transport, it's purpose for coming was unknown. All Northern Axis units were pooling out into the "court yard" of the Northern Axis base "Solar-8" When all the vehicles had pooled in, they received their objective via wireless transmission. The objective was "Take this designated area, destroy everything that gets in your way, Solar, Frontier, Tundran, Norman, Windis, etc." and so, all the vehicles embarked from the main gate of "Solar-8" as they drove on, hundreds of NA aircraft appeared overhead, darkening the skies, and then they saw what they were looking for, 2 groups of enemies, fighting each other, mostly infantry, and above them was a large airship ship gently drifting down. All vehicles assembled into a firing line, and began firing rapidly, "KABLAM! KABLAM! KABLAM!" thousands of rounds were expended on the 2 groups, although hitting few, they left their mark, as the enemy ranks quickly liquidated, and the tanks drove on to their next destination, as NA craft mingled in-between the airship and Anglo fighters, joining the 3 way brawl. "Digit" and its brethren drove onward. Encountering little resistance, except for an abandoned Battlestation which they ignored as it was out of fuel and the mechanized infantry made sure it was clear. Later "Digit" and friends returned to base, to find it under attack by an enemy battalion made up by the combined elements of 2 armies attacking the outer wall of the base, the returning UAGVs quickly formed a firing line and bombarded the attackers with missile and cannon fire, the element of surprise gave them an edge and the enemy ranks once again liquidated under the barrage. And the vehicles returned to base, but tonight they tripled the night guard, just in case...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jonathan was preparing his landing ship and marines before takeoff. He needed to clear a path for the _Indefatigable_ to land and that wasn't going to be easy. Sols and Anglos were fighting neck and neck on the southern half while the Northern Axis and joined the fray to the North. Suddenly, a Sol T-copter roughly crashed onto the bow, wood splitting and metal whining. A Sol squadron emerged from the belly of the iron beast and began defiling the beauty of the mighty ship. He began to see some men climbing down stairs heading towards the engine room. There was no way he would let them bring the tireless ship down. He quickly aimed at fired, hitting a soldier in the neck causing him to fall down the stairs into the others below him. "To me!" he cried. "To me! The _Indefatigable_ has been boarded." Darryl burst from below deck with a handful of marines ready to defend the pride of the skies. The Sols were taken by surprise as a hail of air propelled bullets bore down on them. They charged onto the bow with shields in front, turning the fight to melee combat as they tackled their opponents to the ground. "For the Empire!" yelled Darryl. The marines repeated the phrase as they fought, morale as high as always.

Seeing an Assault Veteran hit out of the corner of his eye, Mattimeo turned around, fired a few shots, and proceeded towards the engine room with the remaining Flame Vet. Finally reaching his destination, he simply burned through the controls with Plasma, causing the ship to plummet.BRZZT "Ok, guys!" Mattimeo shouted over the com, "Get off the ship, she's going down! Meet me at the T-Copter!" BRZZTOpening the door to the engine room, he was faced with a Windis Rifle grunt, which the Flame Vet took care of. Mattimeo and his squad member hastily charged up the stairs, trying to get the T-Copter...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Digit" and friends were once again adventuring out from the base "Solar-8" today it and it's armored battalion's objective was to secure the crash site of a large Windis airship known as the "Indefatigable" the armored battalion quickly churned over the soft sands of the Solar Empire, and soon found their target, the huge airship had plowed into the soft sands, and fires still raged on the main deck, and there was the imprint of what looked like a Transport helicopter on the bow. "Digit" and friends quickly moved into formation to surround the beast, but as they closed range, many guns aboard the craft came to life, firing rapidly at the approaching vehicles, although taking hits, "Digit" and its brethren quickly silenced the guns and crew manning them with a salvo of "Dantee's Inferno IV" air fuel missiles right into the positions. And then there was an eerie silence as NA storm troopers disembarked from their APCs, as the storm troopers advanced on the ship many HMGs on the ship came to life and began firing sporadically on the infantry, but those were also silenced by a slavo of missiles right into the positions. But as the infantry advanced closer, a large door opened and Windisian infantry poured out, the NA infantry ran back to their APCs for protection, although a few were hit as they retreated, and the APCs' Vulcans hummed to life firing rapidly at the incoming infantry, meanwhile "Digit" and friends fired off cannon rounds and missiles sporadically at the flood of oncoming infantry, although hitting few infantry directly, multiple explosions ravaged the already damaged ship and the infantry continued pouring out, dishing out waves of bullets but doing little damage to the heavy battle vehicles, but then came Windisian Bombardiers, their anti-vehicle weaponry hit the APCs hard, but the APCs kept dishing it out harder, and then came the Windis commander who quickly rallied his troops and their fire became deadlier than ever, but then, the "Dantee's Inferno IV" missiles reloaded for "Digit" and company, and they fired directly on where the Windisian infantry were pouring from, starting a huge inferno within the ship itself and taking out many Windis infantry in the process (although not their CO quite apparently, his body wasn't recovered). But "Digit's" Battalion had taken too long, they were ordered back to base and the assignment of cleaning up what was left of the enemy troops was given to "Gamma Company" and "Digit's" battalion returned to base for a well earned rest, and once again the guard was tripled to cope with the threat of enemy raids that night...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jonathan felt the ship begin to plummet down to the blue abyss beneath his feet. He saw the perpetrators of this cowardly act running back towards their landing craft. But they could not leave yet. In fact, he'd make sure they did not get back.He cried out, "Vengeance!" before sprinting towards the man giving orders and tackling him onto the deck. Jonathan drew his REGENT K13 pistol and shoved it hard into the man's neck. "Why did you attack us?" yelled Jonathan, "We are a neutral force. Why did you attack us?" Before he could get his answer, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a gun being aimed directly at his head. No more than half a second later, he saw that same man drop to the ground and heard Darryl yell, "What the bloody devil do you think you're doing, Jonathan? Kill him already!" In that moment, Jonathan lost focus of what he was doing. He was trying to make a quick decision: kill him or get him to talk? That lapse of concentration was a thing Jonathan remembered with great pain every night for the rest of his life, for a gloved fist was pressed hard against his face and he sprawled backward with a cry. The man got up and drew a hidden knife before Darryl could react. Jonathan watched as Darryl let out a gasp for breath before falling down, clutching his stomach as his murderer calmly left his dear friend to die in vain, or perhaps it was an eternal lesson for Jonathan. His blood began to pump faster and faster until his entire body was throbbing and he charged towards the escaping T-copter. He thought if he could just grab onto to something he could climb aboard and kill the man who killed his best mate. He jumped, he could feel the wind rushing over him, rejuvenating his very soul. It was calm, as though something was telling him that vengeance was not for him. But he did not heed the wind. He grabbed onto the shining white metal of the copter just in time as it took off over the sea. He was hanging there, tilting the copter onto an angle as it continued back towards the island.

Getting up off the ground from being tackled by the Windis trooper, Mattimeo saw that his T-Copter had already left!"No! They left without me! Now I'm stuck on this doomed ship! Gone to hell in a hand basket!" Mattimeo frantically searched for a way off the ship. Finding none, he simply braced for impact and shot at any Windis troop that came near him. Above the din, he could hear a man yelling,"Seven seconds to impact, sir!"_'That's right,_Mattimeo thought, _'the captain always goes down with his ship...'_"...six...five...four...three, brace for impact! One!!!"The airship hit the ground with an ear-splitting crunch of twisted metal, splintered wood, and screaming soldiers. Mattimeo was knocked against the wall, falling unconscious immediately...

Jonathan watched helplessly from his perch as he saw the beauty of the skies plummet to its death. Such a terrible end for a masterpiece, but Darryl would be avenged first. He pulled himself up into the T-copter, only to receive a swift kick in the face. The pain was nothing to him and he pushed his attacker out into his deep blue death. He picked up the dead man's fallen gun and began to blast away at the other men looking to kill this intruder. The men fell to the ground either dead or wounded yet he relentlessly continued, driving blast after blast of plasma into their bodies. One wounded man managed to reveal his gun before Jonathan could notice. He felt a surge of white hot pain in his arm yet he took no heed of it. The man died with a burst of plasma to the head but Jonathan did not see Darryl's killer. The pilot had long since heard the attack yet could do nothing without losing control of the plain. Jonathan ordered him out of his seat and killed him shortly after. He had little experience with copters and quickly lost control. The plain was tossing up and down, left and right, yet still moving onwards towards land. Machine gun fire from land took him by surprise. He couldn't see who attempted to kill him but quickly lost all care for the thought because the copter pulled into a dive. He was going downwards with smoke on his trail, spinning the whole way. Jonathan saw the wreckage of the _Indefatigable_ amidst the burning fumes. _If I could just move towards it!_ he thought. The whole machine suddenly jerked and he was thrown through the wind shield onto soft sand below. His last thoughts before fading unconscious were of Darryl's killer and the killer of the _Indefatigable_.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Digit", our friendly autonomous battle platform antagonist has many memories of past battles, the most memorable was the invasion of the Norman Republic. It was the battle introduction for the first Kublai Khan autonomous Ultra-Heavy breakthrough tanks. It was early morning, dawn had just broken and the air was heavy with humidity and the wind was mild. "Digit" was packed into Black Eagle MkII #2 with other Kublai Khans and Titan Mechs, "Digit's" Black Eagle was to hit the center of the beach and bring the main assault force to bear. As it's transport came in low, they were met with a barrage of cannon and tank fire, and other NA craft were already strafing the beach head, then came the last 8 seconds before they hit the beach and the armored doors swung open...8 DONK! DINK! WHIZZ! enemy fire is increasing...7 BLAM! one of the nearby Black Shroud gunnery drones exploded and chunks splashed all around...6 TATATATATATATATAT!!!! The Black Eagle's frontal 30mm turrets come online and fire a huge barrage of blue tracers that suppress the beach head defenders and take out multiple pill boxes...5 CLICK-CLICK all tanks and mechs load their cannon and weaponry... 4 BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM! Enemy flak defenses begin firing all around but the thick armor of the transports protects them for the most part...3 SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!!!!KABLAM!! NA Eclipses come in at a vertical dive and drop missiles right into the AA defenses...2 there is a long silence as the transports slow and gently hover down...1 DONK the Black Eagle has touched down...0 DING! SHEW! The green light blares and the door swings up and the ramp deploys immediately all the tanks and mechs scramble out. "Digit" sighted a Norman infantry squad in a trench and fires a "Dantee's Inferno IV" air-fuel missile right into the trench Shhhhhhisssshhh KABOOM!!! and then "Digit" moved on, crossing over the trench and assaulting the Norman forces fiercely, crushing smaller enemy vehicles and pill boxes under it's great mass, but as it advanced, "Digit" came under concentrated artillery fire and had to keep moving but fired a few artillery rockets in response, as it advanced forward it found a lone artillery unit, "Digit" fired a round from it's 245mm PAW cannon and vaporized the target immediately. But, as "Digit" moved up it's other Kublai support slowed due to mechanical trouble and "Digit" ended up alone with 3 other Kublais after most of the fighting on the beach had ended and it was mostly secure and they had stopped at the bluffs overlooking the beach, but soon found the help of a squad made up of 23 Storm troopers and 3 H.APCs, they advanced further up, over the bluffs and eventually came upon the town of Bord De Le Mer, with the help of the other Kublais "Digit" managed to blow apart multiple buildings and set others alight with their missile armaments, but when it came to taking the town, there arose a problem, Digit and the other Kublais could smash down structures, but had a hard time with being flanked and attacked at the rear by Norman forces who knew what the streets were and how to navigate them, along with the choke points in the city, and after taking serious damage to it's squad, including the loss of 1 H.APC, 9 Storm troopers, and having another Kublai seriously damaged, "Digit" had to signal the force to retreat back to the newly secured beach for repairs and resupply. Although for the most part the mission was a success the town was never taken, but "Digit" gained valuable experience in the conflict, which it would use to great effect in later conflicts...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Stevie sat with his back to the wall, eyes closed, and the dust in the air coating his dry skin with a thick layer of grime. The heat rose in waves off of the sandy dunes and the faint sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance. Gratefully, Stevie took a swig of lukewarm water from his brown flask.Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He swiveled his head to find himself staring into a pair of dirty overalls and heavy combat boots that could only belong to one person. Tentatively, he looked up and found himself staring into the fiery eyes of Private Natalie van Dyke."Another day in paradise, eh, Captain?" She said."Mmm..." he replied awkwardly.There was something about the feisty, young pilot that made Stevie feel small. Although just three months out of training school, she had been anxious to head to the front, and she was already feared by her enemies (and sometimes allies)."When do you think we'll be called forward?" she inquired as she peered into the distance. Far on the horizon we could see the ocean, where most of the fighting was taking place. A single plume of black smoke rose in the air, and a smattering of gunfire broke out, followed by a large explosion."I don't know, private, but I hope no time soon.""Aw, c'mon. I didn't come all this way just to sit in a dreary camp for days on end. I wanna get in my jet and _kill_ somebody!"Despite himself, Stevie smiled. "if we get to the front, private, I'm sure you'll understand what I'm saying."She stared at him intensely for a brief second. Then, she spat and turned away. "Whatever, chief." She walked back into the base.Stevie shook his head and took a swig from his flask, enjoying a few more minutes of piece.

Suddenly, he was jarred awake by a shrill siren blaring out over the base."Alert!" crackled a voice over the intercom. "All pilots to their planes. Battle formation! Alert! All pilots to their planes..." the message continued to repeat itself.Stevie jumped up, discarding his flask to the sand. Sprinting was not easy in all his thick, black boots, but he managed to get to the equipment room in record time. Frightened faces and adrenaline met him as he stepped into the small hut, but he was all business. he grabbed an oxygen mask and gloves and ran out to the runway. The planes were all there, gleaming in the midday sun, the Solar Empire logo emblazoned upon their golden sides.Stevie jogged over to where his own fighter stood."Hello, beautiful." he murmured as he climbed up the ladder on its side. "Have a good nap?"Flicking several switches, he enabled his radio and was instantly blasted by the voices of nearly a dozen exhilarated boys. Then one voice jumped out from the rest."WOULD YOU BRATS SHUT UP?" screamed Private van Dyke. I smiled to myself again.Flicking the ignition key, I felt my powerful engines begin to heat up. In front of me, the other planes began to take off one by one. Being a wing leader, I was one of the last to go.Finally, it was my turn."Stevie, you have a green light"I turned the switch, flicked off the safety, and shot off the runway...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Waking up in the wrecked shell of the _Indefatigable_, Mattimeo crawled out the nearest exit and opened his eyes to a huge burning mass nearby. The fuel tank had ruptured and left an enormous trail of fuel behind him. Seeing no way back to his squad, he called his next best bet.BRRZT! "Skylark Leader, are you there? Repeat, do you copy?" BRRZT!Mattimeo tentatively waited for a reply from the Q, the leader of Skylark Squadron, an elite air force corps of the Solar Empire. He looked at the horizon in all directions, seeing nothing. "Wow, I really crashed this baby." He said to himself, admiring his work.BRRZT! Mattimeo thought it was time he called Q again, "Skylark Leader, requesting pickup at..." Mattimeo didn't know his coordinates, his GPS went out from the crash, "Well, just look for a big, burning, half-buried airship. I'm right beside that." BRZZT!He walked down from the ship's side, which was on top at the moment, cradling his Plasma Rifle in his arm in case something popped out of the shadow.

Stevie's squad was in tight formation. He was proud of his boys... and girl. At least they were keeping their heads. As the plume of smoke grew higher and higher, Stevie became more worried. What kind of massive accident had there been to cause such a fire?All of his thoughts washed away, though, when his radio crackled to life. Through a static haze, he could hardly hear what was been said."skylark... there... you... copy?""Yes, this is Team Skylark, we read you! Repeat, we read you! Who are you and what is your position?" Stevie replied frantically. "Hello? Hello?""...leader... pickup... look... big... ship... "... and then just static...Stevie swore loudly. It sounded like that was all he had to go on. He radioed over to the other wing commander"I just picked up a scrambled transmission! It sounded like a distress signal!""Sir?" replied the other pilot. "I didn't hear anything. Are you feeling all right?""Don't you talk to your superiors that way!" Stevie yelled violently. "I think we should check it out.""Err... I don't know sir. The orders were to remain in formation and draw the enemies' fire""I know what our orders were, soldier" Stevie's voice dropped dangerously as he said this."Yes sir, of course sir. Just...just trying to think of the team, sir."Stevie considered this. He hated to admit it, but the other pilot was probably right. There was no I in team. He ordered team Skylark to bank sharply to the right, where a mass of enemy troops had a group of Solar Empire forces pinned. It was the opposite direction of the accident...

Mattimeo was excited as he heard the echo of jet engines. These were quiet, implying they ran on Plasma. Plasma-fueled planes meant the Solar Empire was nearby! He ran in the direction he thought it was coming from, but the sound soon diminished, leaving him alone. He angrily stomped back to the wreck, sitting down near it.BRRZT! "Stevie, it's Mattimeo! Can you hear me? Well, obviously not, or you would've responded by now! Dammit!" BRRZT! Mattimeo gave up, throwing his com across the sandy beach, watching it land about 10 meters away from the water.But then he had a thought: What if he could wire his com into the satellite uplink from his malfunctioning GPS? It would increase his range by... almost 600! Mattimeo ran over to the discarded com, ripping off the back casing and doing likewise to his GPS. He carefully removed the satellite communications node and plasma-welded it onto the com in place of the antenna. "Oh, yes. A masterpiece."BRRZT! "Steve? Can you hear me? This is Mattimeo! I need a pickup from someone in your squadron. You probably don't have any room in your fighter, so someone with a T-Copter or Gunship needs to come get me! I'm standing by the big airship wreck, it's hard to miss!" BRRZT!Mattimeo prayed that his makeshift super-com would bear fruit.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Missile vets, to the left!" came an anguished cry through Stevie's radio. "They've opened fire!"Stevie dropped a few meters and now he could see several bright lights were arcing through the air toward his team."Alright." he said calmly into his microphone. "Evasive action! Draw their fire, but avoid being hit at all costs!" A few murmurs of agreement came through his headset. "What was that?!" Stevie roared. "Are you soldiers or not, people? Let's hear you!""HOO-RAH!" yelled his team, and then he heard Natalie emit a high pitched, feral war-cry. For the third time that day, the young pilot made him smile.Stevie piloted his plane in a wide arc toward the missiles, hoping to draw them away from the less experienced pilots. As he circled around, his radio again crackled to life. This time, the transmission was clear as a bell.Stevie's eyes widened as Mattimeo emitted his cry for help. Unfortunately, his battalion was made up of only fighters. He _could_ radio back to base for copter support, but by the time the chopper arrived the advancing enemy troops would be upon Mattimeo. There was but one thing left to do.Stevie would have to pick Mattimeo up himself in his fighter. If Mattimeo was not claustrophobic, he might be able to squeeze into the cockpit.It took only a split second before Stevie made his decision. He had to rescue the brave, lone warrior. He radioed those pilots under his command, ordering them to distract the enemy for as long as possible. Then he turned back to the direction from which he had just come.As Stevie came closer to the massive wreck, he gasped. A twisted mound of blackened metal casing lay half buried in the soft sand. Debris lay strewn in a long line behind the wrecked aircraft and a fire was actively consuming the remains. how could anyone have survived that? nevertheless, Stevie spotted a lone figure waving up at him.His engines powered by powerful plasma energy, Stevie smoothly maneuvered his plane next to Mattimeo. "Need a lift?" shouted Stevie as his comrade came towards him. "A lift would be superb!" Mattimeo replied, hoisting himself up onto the plane by means of grabbing the elevators, "So I'm supposed to crunch into the cockpit?" Mattimeo looked dismayed, "Well, I suppose it's better than just standing here!" He crawled into the cockpit and lay, cramped, behind the seat."Where are we headed?" He asked Stevie quizzically; the only thing they could really do would be to drop him off at the nearest base. He didn't have an oxygen mask and the cockpit wasn't pressurized. On the other hand, they couldn't just leave the rest of Skylark Squadron to fend for themselves. Most of them were new and had never been in a real battle situation. Waiting for liftoff, Mattimeo braced himself for the feeling of flying. He didn't like it at first, but once they were in the air, he'd be fine.But he had just one more question; this one he asked himself, _W__here__ is the rest of Olympus Squadron? The last I saw of them, they got off the _Indefatigable_ by T-Copter..._

Stevie pushed the throttle and felt the plane slowly rise into the air. Mattimeo voiced his concern about the oxygen mask, but Stevie silently reached into a small compartment on the floor."I always have a plan, my friend" he said as he pulled out a spare mask. With shaking hands, Mattimeo secured the device around his face."All right..." said Stevie. "Now, hold on!" And with that, he hit the thrusters.Mattimeo's face turned an unpleasant shade of green as the sleek jet sped towards the nearby air base, but plasma makes for a smooth ride and the plane was hardly affected by turbulence. In fact, Stevie suspected that Mattimeo started to quite enjoy himself.Suddenly, Stevie slowed the plane down drastically. Out of the corner of his eye he had spotted a glint of gold. He slowly pulled his plane around in a wide arc, and as they got closer, he heard Mattimeo gasp.It was a downed T-Copter! Around it were spread several Solar troops. Many were lying on the ground. Many of those weren't moving. As they touched down, Mattimeo jumped out of the cockpit before the engines had even cooled down. As Stevie climbed out, he saw several Sol soldiers running towards them. He suspected that this was the remainder of Mattimeo's original company... Mattimeo dashed towards the remaining soldiers. Turning to a Corporal-Ranked Mortar Veteran, he started questioning him, "What happened, Corporal? The last I saw you escaped from the airship!""Well, sir," the Mortar Veteran replied, "We were just getting off the airship after you took out the engine room when we noticed you were missing! We were about to tell the pilot to turn around when we just started dropping! We crashed here. Only a few of us made it out."Mattimeo ran past with a quick, "O.K." and went to inspect the troops. The only ones that had survived the crash were 2 Rifle Grunts, a Plasma Vet, and the Mortar Vet he had spoken to. He asked the other 3 soldiers about what had happened: they all gave the same answer as the Mortar Veteran.Walking back to Stevie, Mattimeo quickly asked the obvious question, "How are we going to get these troops out of here? No way in hell are they all gonna fit in the plane. We'll need to get copter support, and then we need to heal the wounded!" He spoke of the Plasma Vet and one of the Rifle Grunts. "They don't have that kind of medical facilities at an airbase..." The Plasma Veteran had a badly broken leg and the Rifle Grunt was bleeding from a deep gash in his side. Considering his possibilities, Mattimeo came to a conclusion: They had to go back to the _Indefatigable_."Look, if we go back to the airship, they'll have a medical facility SOMEWHERE in that thing. It was a fully-functional fortress, so they ought to have the medical room well-protected." He argued to Stevie and his men, "We can radio in for a copter to pick us up and drop us off there."Mattimeo knew that they would most likely encounter resistance at the crash site, but it was their only real chance. If they didn't go, the Rifle Grunt would soon die from loss of blood and the Plasma Vet might never be able to walk again._"__I just hope this works._"


End file.
